This invention relates to a general purpose architectural method suitable for most conceivable combinations for multimedia communications. PC workstations are widely available at most offices and homes today, yet due to their processing and storage limitations, they were never considered for complex image/live video applications. Alternatively, existing methods employee single media communications. Namely, telephone for human voice communications, fax for text communications, or PC workstations for data communications. Noticeably all of these single-media communications use existing analog telephone lines connecting through the central office (CO) switch, only one of the media types can be selected at a time, and the fax and F.sub.20 use dial-up modem for analog transmission of the digital data. Meanwhile, various coding techniques are available today so that source media (image, live video, sound, and animated graphics) can be reduced (coded or compressed) into lesser quantity to ease the storage and transmission constraint, and the destination media can be restored (decoded or decompressed) and playback without quality degradation, then such digital coded media information can find wide applications for remote database retrieval, teleconferencing, messaging, distance education and other applications to complement traditional single media (voice, data, and text) communications.
We now turn to the reviewing of existing product and patent. Various single-media codec (compression and decompression) techniques has matured in recent years to allow the high reduction (compression) of the source media and the quality playback (decompression) of the destination media. Individual international standards (CCITT and ISO) will soon be established to facilitate the worldwide communications of still image, quality sound, live video, and animated graphics. However the multimedia products we have searched to-date are either video conferencing systems (i.e. CLI, PictureTel) using dedicated systems and complex algorithms for quality video and audio only, or incorporate desktop PC workstation for a one-way, decode only (playback and display) mixed media presentation (DVI, CDI et.al). Videophones (Sony, Panasonic, et.al.) have been the only communications product which utilize real-time coder and decoder for image and voice transmission through traditional analog or digital transmission, However, their quality are poor, and effects are limited. In conclusion, the prior arts involve either real-time playback of the precoded compressed data (live video, sound, and graphics) for a multimedia presentation, or the real time coding and decoding of live video and voice for a live conferencing applications.
Accordingly, we feel it is superior to provide digital media communications in conjunction with the traditional voice and data communications because it combines the use of live video, graphics, and audio media, therefore make up a much more effective means for human to communicate with each other. Since "single picture worths a thousand words", it is conceivable that pictorial information such as image and live video can definitely enhance and complement the traditional communications.